Written by Adam Mast
INSIDE OUT (PG)
The stunning creative achievement that is “Inside Out” is Pixar’s fifteenth feature, and it is easily the studio’s strongest effort since 2010’s “Toy Story 3.” Now, where does “Inside Out” rank within the confines of the entire Pixar canon? Well, that’s no easy question to answer because with a few notable exceptions (“Cars 2” chief among them), this animation staple has delivered such quality work through the years that my opinion on this matter literally changes from day to day. Having said that, today I’m more than confident in calling “Inside Out” one of Pixar’s very best films, and if you’ve seen everything this studio is responsible for, you know that’s saying a lot.
“Inside Out” tells the story of Riley, a happy young girl who must adjust to new surroundings after her father uproots the family from the Midwest to San Francisco. The adjustment isn’t easy for Riley as she finds herself in a new school filled with unfamiliar kids in a foreign environment considerably different from the one she grew up in.
The adjustment isn’t easy for the five distinctive emotions that run the command center in Riley’s adolescent brain either. They are Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).These colorful characters have been with Riley since birth, and while they certainly always mean well, their conflicting ways sometimes only add to Riley’s confusion. Such is life though, and this picture beautifully captures the spirit of youth all while showcasing those tiny but significant moments that are simply a part of growing up.
“Inside Out” is a brilliant return to form for a studio that is often known for complementing a powerfully dramatic core with striking visuals. There are several components that make this movie so effective, the primary component being intimacy. Rather than painting in broad strokes, the incredible storytelling artists behind “Inside Out”—which includes “Up” director Pete Docter—choose to focus on a single event and how it drastically alters Riley’s behavior. In this case, it’s simply a move to a new city. For an adult, a move can prove to be incredibly taxing, but for a child, it can emerge as something far more complicated.
Of course, the other component that takes “Inside Out” to soaring new creative heights is that it’s actually two thoughtful adventures in one. There’s Riley’s story, which, if you’ve ever made a move in your life, you’re sure to find this movie instantly relatable. However, there’s also the story inside Riley’s head, and it is this particular story that gives “Inside Out” its humor along with a grand sense of adventure. As Riley’s most dominant emotion, Joy tries to keep the other emotions in check, and an inadvertent act committed by Sadness will set off a chain reaction that will ultimately send Joy into the deepest, most uncharted parts of Riley’s mind in an effort to restore harmony once again.
In some respects, this two-stories-in-one plot trait is reminiscent of Joe Dante’s “Innerspace” and to a far less raunchy extent, that famed segment in Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask).”
“Inside Out” is quite a breath of fresh air. It’s vibrant, witty, funny, charming, sad, and positively heartfelt. It certainly has lofty ambitions for a family film (a sequence in which Joy finds herself stuck in a vast wasteland of lost and discarded memories would have been perfectly at home in Christopher’s Nolan’s “Inception”), but it succeeds in appealing to just about every age and demographic.
Quite simply, “Inside Out” is an unforgettable gem. It’s a stunning piece of storytelling from a studio that consistently churns out masterworks. It’s beautifully animated and exceptionally well-voiced, but for all its visual bravado and humor, it has an emotional charge that’s most worth noting. There’s an honesty at the heart of this movie, and I found myself moved throughout. Much of who we are as individuals is because of the various emotions that make up our being. “Inside Out” probably displays this better than any other movie I’ve seen.
What a joy this film is. No, scratch that. What a Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust this movie is. In short, “Inside Out” is one of the best films of the year, and I can’t wait to see it again.
